Part 3

Another powerful writer on the subject was Dr. Cohausen a learned and ingenious German physician. The works of this author were numerous and bore evidence of the vigour of his intellect and of his application to letters. His work entitled “Neothea,” and published in 1716, was written to shew the folly of sending to China for tea, when we had so many herbs to hand, just as pleasant and far more healthy. His wit for which he was justly celebrated was not sufficiently powerful to render the use of tea unfashionable.

Boerhaave, the great Dutch physician, and follower of Hippocrates and Sydenham had an objection to tea, but not so much to the herb itself as to the practice of drinking of hot liquids. He refers to those persons who “weaken their bodies with perpetual drinking of aqueous liquors; such is the very bad custom which prevails amongst the Dutch, who indulge themselves in a sedentary life, and all day long use those Asiatic drinks made of the berries of coffee or leaves of tea.” He also attributed to these drinks certain nervous disorders. “I have seen a great many, so enervated by drinking too freely of those liquors (tea, coffee and the like) that they could hardly move their limbs, and likewise several who were seized with the apoplexy and palsy from that cause.”

An early lay opponent of tea-drinking was John Wesley. He tells us that when he first went to Oxford with an exceedingly good constitution “he was somewhat surprised at certain symptoms of a paralytic disorder.” His hand shook especially after breakfast, and he observed that if he gave up tea-drinking for two or three days, the shaking ceased. On inquiry he found that tea had the same effect on others, and particularly on persons whose nerves were weak. This led him to lessen the quantity and to drink weaker tea, but still for about 26 years he was more or less subject to the same disorder. In 1746 he began to observe that a number of people in London were similarly affected, some suffering from the nerves with decay of bodily strength, and he asked them if they were hard drinkers, and learnt in reply that they drank nothing but a little tea, morning and evening. He came to the conclusion that they suffered from the effects of tea like he had himself. Wesley thought he should set an example and broke himself of a practice which had lasted for 27 years. The first three days he suffered from headache more or less all day long, and was half asleep from morning to night; on the third day his memory failed but the symptoms abated in the following day and his memory returned. He felt great benefit from the abstinence, and found that his hand was as steady at 45 as it had been at fifteen.

One of the most determined opponents of tea-drinking in the 18th century was Jonas Hanway, the eminent philanthropist and “father” of Sunday schools. His views may be gathered from the title of his work. Owing to the results of this beverage he said “men seem to have lost their stature and comeliness; and women their beauty ... what Shakespeare ascribes to the concealment of love, is in this age, more frequently occasioned by the use of tea.... I am persuaded the inhabitants of this island will never increase in number nor enjoy a blooming health whilst they continue such an extravagant use of tea.” Hanway’s exaggerations succeeded in drawing Dr. Johnson into the controversy. The great man in a review of Hanway’s work said “he is to expect little justice from the author of this extract, a hardened and shameless tea-drinker who has for twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of this facinating plant, whose kettle has scarcely time to cool, who with tea amuses the evening, with tea solaces the midnights, and with tea welcomes the morning.”

We learn from Boswell that “no person ever enjoyed with more relish the infusion of that fragrant leaf than Johnson. The quantities which he drank of it at all hours were so great, that his nerves must have been uncommonly strong, not to have been extremely relaxed by such an intemperate use of it.” Boswell says that Johnson assured him he never felt the least inconvenience from it. In a footnote to page 105 of Boswell’s “Life” we are informed that a Mr. Parker of Henley was in possession of a tea-pot which belonged to Dr. Johnson and held “above two quarts.”

At the end of the eighteenth century Dr. Lettsom, a well-known authority on the subject, published a work on the “Natural History of the Tea Tree.” He found that amongst the less hardy and robust complaints were ascribed to the drinking of tea “there are many who cannot bear to drink a single dish of tea without being immediately sick and disordered at the stomach, ... and that in irritable constitutions it speedily excited the nerves to such a degree as to give rise to uneasy sensations and bring on spasmodic affections.” He also says “I know people of both sexes, who are constantly seized with great uneasiness, anxiety, and oppression as often as they take a single cup of tea.” For children he thought it decidedly harmful; “children and very young persons in general, should as much as possible be deterred from the use of this infusion. It weakens their stomach, impairs the digestive powers and favours the generation of many diseases.” On the whole however, he was not altogether opposed to the practice in strong healthy vigorous adults, “to such it is undoubtedly wholesome and equal at least if not preferable to any other kind of regale now in use.” On another page we read that “if not drunk too hot, nor in too great quantities it is perhaps preferable to any other vegetable infusion we know.”

Quite at the end of the eighteenth century, Dr. Buchan, who was something of a medical reformer, and had naturally observed the results of tea-drinking thought that the ill-effects proceeded rather from the imprudent use of it than from any bad qualities in the tea itself. In his “Domestic Medicine” (p. 74) he says, “good tea, taken in moderate quantity, not too strong, nor too hot, nor drank upon an empty stomach, will seldom do harm, but if it be bad, which is often the case or substituted in the room of solid food, it must have many ill effects.” He observed that “females who live much on tea and other watery diet, generally become weak, and unable to digest solid food; hence proceed hysterics, and all their dreadful consequences.”

In the early part of the nineteenth century we have the opinion of William Cobbett, a vigorous writer and acute observer of the habits of the time in which he lived. In his “Advice to young men” Cobbett remarks “Let me beseech you to resolve to free yourselves from the slavery of the tea and coffee and other slop kettle, if unhappily you have been bred up in such slavery. Experience has taught me that those slops are injurious to health. Until I left them off (having taken to them at the age of 26) even my habits of sobriety, moderate eating, early rising, even these were not, until I left off the slops, sufficient to give me that complete health which I have since had.”

The most complete but painful description I have come across of the distressing symptoms occasionally associated with tea-drinking is given by Dr. James Henry who writes in 1830. He refers to the case of a gentleman who commenced the use of tea of ordinary strength at the age of 14. Shortly afterwards sleep became less sound, and he became nervous and easily agitated about matters of small consequence. Afterwards he suffered from uneasiness even while sleeping, also from nightmare and palpitation of the heart. His sleep was disturbed during the whole period of ten years; during this time he took three cups of tea in the morning and three cups in the evening. At the age of 24 or 25 he used tea more freely and his sleep became more and more disturbed. He sometimes took tea twice in the same evening. The suffering was very great; he did not fall asleep at night until two o’clock and the agitation of mind and body was indescribable. The pulsations of the heart were sometimes quick and faint, and sometimes so violent that he could not lie on his left side. Sometimes the pulsations became scarcely perceptible for several moments, at such times the patient felt as if he were dying and if he fell asleep he awoke with a violent start. He wished to sleep that he might avoid the distressing sensations which he felt while awake, but feared to do so lest his awakening should be accompanied by frightful agony. After a time the distressing sensations were so marked especially just before going to bed that “in the society of my family I felt myself so agitated without any apparent cause that I was unable either to speak or think deliberately, or even to remain in one position and have been obliged that I might not be thought insane to rise abruptly, hurry out of the house and take violent exercise in the open air.” At 30 years of age he renounced tea and never suffered afterwards, “the very first night I slept soundly and I have never had any return either of sleeplessness or of starting or of the sensation of imminent death, unless on the rare occasions when I have returned to the use of tea.” Dr. Henry argued from the above case that “tea and coffee act as a poison upon some persons” and on turning his attention to the subject he found that such cases were far from uncommon, and concluded that like alcohol tea may be indulged in for a series of years without apparent ill consequences, but that sooner or later it undermines the health, and renders life miserable. As with alcohol he recognises two stages. The first stage was characterised by agreeable sensations in the stomach, moderate perspiration, quickened pulse and increased vivacity of mind and body. In the second stage there was irregular pulse, sometimes rapid, sometimes slow and intermitting, with palpitation and pains in the region of the heart--a vivacity of thought and action which is quite uncontrollable by the will, a painful insensibility to impressions of all kinds, twitchings of the muscles, disturbed sleep, frightful startings especially in the evening, irregular and sometimes cold perspiration, impaired appetite and defective circulation in the extremities. He concluded “that the immoderate use of tea and coffee produce a disease which bears a close resemblance to the delirium tremens of whisky drinkers, and which is almost identical with the diseased state induced by the excessive indulgence of opium.”

We now come to the opinion of the more recent authorities and a few remarks are necessary concerning the symptoms liable to result from excessive tea-drinking. In the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal for September 10th, 1868, a writer Dr. Pratt explains the effects on himself of 12 grains of the alkaloid of tea. After two hours there was great physical restlessness, a very uneasy state of mind which has been described by Lehmann as “mental anguish.” Soon after there was marked tremulousness of the hands and arms; the hand trembled so violently that it was impossible to write with any regularity. The mind was excessively uncomfortable and anxious which admitted not of the slightest rest; it was in a state of most active and persistent thinking in spite of all attempts at forgetfulness. The severe symptoms lasted about two hours. Dr. Pratt spoke to one of the most prominent New England lady writers. She had tried green tea when pressed to do a large amount of writing in a short time. Some time after taking a large quantity of tea she felt as “if there was nothing left but her head which furnished rapidly language or ideas of the best quality, and in goodly quantity all night long.” The next day there was headache and more or less prostration.

An important article on the “toxic effects of tea” was contributed by Dr. Morton in 1879. He said that the bad effects of tea tasting were known and recognised by the tea tasters themselves and that few could carry on the business for many years without breaking down. The immediate effects of moderate doses were increased rapidity of pulse, increased respiration, agreeable exhilaration of mind and body, a feeling of contentment and placidity, and an increase of intellectual and physical vigour with no noticeable reaction. The immediate effects of an excessive dose, were a rapid elevation of the pulse and marked increase of respiration; there was no period of exhilaration, but immediate and severe headache, dimness of vision, ringing in the ears, and dulness and confusion of ideas. Following this a severe reaction with exhaustion of mind and body, tremulousness, nervousness and dread of impending harm. The effects of continued doses were--continuance of tremulousness, extreme susceptibility to outside impressions, constipation and diminution of urine.

Dr. Morton concluded that tea--like other potent drugs--had its proper and improper uses, in moderation it was a mild and pleasant stimulant followed by no harmful reaction but that continued and immoderate use led to serious symptoms including headache, giddiness, ringing in the ears, tremulousness, nervousness, exhaustion of mind and body, disinclination to mental and physical exertion, increased and irregular action of the heart and also dyspepsia.

Dr. Bullard of Boston made inquiry into the subject of poisoning from excessive tea drinking and found that the prominent symptoms were loss of appetite, dyspepsia, palpitation of the heart, headache, nervousness and various forms of functional nervous symptoms of an hysterical or neuralgic character; he found that usually speaking five cups of tea a day on an average were required to produce symptoms of tea poisoning.

A more recent investigator Dr. Wood found in his practice at the Brooklyn Central Dispensary that of 1000 consecutive cases applying for general treatment, 100 or 10 per cent. were found to be “liberal indulgers in tea,” and suffering from its deleterious effects; of those 100 patients:--

45 complained of headache. 20 ” persistent giddiness. 20 ” despondency. 19 ” indigestion. 19 ” palpitation of the heart. 15 ” sleeplessness.

Dr. Wood found that when tea had been used for a considerable period in excess, the symptoms were giddiness, mental confusion, palpitation of the heart, restlessness, sleeplessness, hallucinations, nightmare, nausea, neuralgia, with prostration and anxiety. In three of Dr. Wood’s cases there was a tendency to suicide.

Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, a great authority thinks that it is only the abuse of tea which is attended with serious consequences. “For my own part I have not the least hesitation in recording the conviction that the development of the tea trade has been in the past and will be in the future a most important aid to the progress of civilisation. Nor do I believe that it will be attended by any serious drawbracks.” But he sounds a note of caution when he says “there can be no doubt whatever that the injudicious use of tea may produce not only alarming attacks of disturbance of the heart, but seriously impair the digestion, and enfeeble the nervous system.”

Sir Andrew Clark, who gave much consideration to the subject, in a lecture delivered at the London Hospital said, “I may remark incidentally that it has always been a matter of surprise to me how it is that we English people do not suffer more than we do from our indulgence in tea, especially tea prepared as it usually is, and taken after a prolonged fast early in the morning. It is a great and powerful disturber of the nervous system, and no one who has any regard for his or her nervous system would take it in that way. Its immediate effect may be all that can be desired. It relieves the malaise which is in itself a sign of warning, and it thus enables the consumer to disregard it. Beware gentlemen, of thus sitting on a safety-valve. Nature provides a warning in most cases of impending disaster, and if you wilfully disregard or stifle them, you do so at your peril. This pernicious habit of taking strong tea after a night’s fast, repeated day after day, week after week, year after year, leaves its stamp on the nervous organism of the individual, and this stamp is handed down, in part at any rate, to the generation that follows.”

Sir Lauder Brunton who has also given much study to the question made some remarks in his Lettsomian Lectures on the “Disorders of Digestion.” He said that tea was very apt to cause a feeling of acidity and flatulence. Sometimes the acidity comes on so soon after the tea taken that it is difficult to assign any other cause for it than an alteration in sensibility of the mucous membrane of the stomach or œsophagus. The effect of tannin he said was to interfere very considerably with the digestion of fresh meat, and there were many people in whom tea taken along with fresh meat will upset the digestion. It did not interfere with the digestion of dried meat such as ham or tongue, the fibres of these have already become shrunk or toughened in the process of curing. He thought that tea at breakfast was not so apt to cause indigestion, but that tea in the afternoon two or three hours after lunch would sometimes bring on acidity almost immediately. A part of the mischief wrought by tea in the lower classes was due to allowing it to infuse for a long time so that a large quantity of tannin was extracted. Another reason was that the poor were accustomed to drink tea very hot. Heat was a powerful stimulant of the heart, and a cup of hot tea was therefore much more stimulating and refreshing than a cold one. The practice, however, of sipping the tea almost boiling was apt to bring on a condition of gastric catarrh. Sir B. W. Richardson was probably more opposed to the practice of tea-drinking than any of our leading modern physicians and as one of the most distinguished medical reformers of recent times his opinion is entitled to carry much weight.

“The common beverage tea,” he says, “is often a cause of serious derangement of health, if not of actual disease. The symptoms of disturbance occur when even the best kind of tea is taken in excess, and almost inevitably from the mixture called ‘green tea’ when that is taken even in moderate quantity.... Tea first quickens, and then reduces the circulation which is the action of a stimulant. But tea does more than this; it contains tannin, and is therefore styptic or astringent in its action from which circumstance it is apt in many persons to produce constipation, and interfere with the function of the liver. In some persons this astringent effect of tea is very bad. It gives rise to a continued indigestion, and what is called biliousness. The most important agent in tea, however, is the organic alkaloid, theine. The alkaloid exercises a special influence on the nervous system, which, when carried to a considerable extent, is temporarily at least if not permanently injurious. At first the alkaloid seems to excite the nervous system, to produce a pleasant sensation and to keep the mind agreeably enlivened and active. The effect is followed by depression, sinking sensation at the stomach, flatulency, unsteadiness with feebleness of muscular power, and not infrequently a lowness of spirits, amounting almost to hypochondriacal despondency. Poor people meet the craving for natural food by taking large quantities of tea. A strong craving for it is engendered which leads to the taking of tea at almost every meal, greatly to the injury of health. Poor women in the factory and cotton districts become actual sufferers from this cause. They are rendered anæmic, nervous, hysterical, and physically feeble. In the better classes of society similar if not such severe injury is effected by tea in those who indulge in it many times a day, and especially in those who indulge in what is called afternoon tea.... The afternoon tea or drum causes dyspepsia, flatulency, nervous depression and low spirits, for relieving which not a few persons have recourse to alcoholic stimulation.... Tea taken late in the evening, except immediately after a moderate meal, interferes with the sleep of most persons by causing indigestion, with flatulency, and sense of oppression. Some are kept awake entirely by the action of the tea on the nervous system; others get off to sleep, but are troubled with dreams, restlessness, and muscular startings. In a few incubus or nightmare is a painful symptom induced by tea.” In old people however, Sir Benjamin Richardson had not noticed such serious results “as persons advance in life the bad effects of tea sometimes pass away or are greatly modified.” But for the generality of people Sir Benjamin certainly felt very strongly about the matter for elsewhere he says “it causes in a large number of persons a long and severe and even painful sadness, there are many who never know a day of felicity owing to this one destroying cause.”

Having generally reviewed the question of injury to health I now come to our own experiments. I first made inquiry into the strength of tea, as commonly consumed, and found that the usual quantity of black tea added was about eight grammes to the 600 cubic centimetres of boiling water. I next approached two well-known firms who kindly supplied me with samples of pure unmixed Indian, Ceylon and China teas.

Eight grammes of each sample were weighed out and were then infused in a tea-pot for five minutes with 600 cubic centimetres of boiling distilled water. At the end of five minutes the infusion was poured off and analysed for the percentage of extract, alkaloid, and tannin, and the following tables show figures for the Indian, Ceylon and China teas respectively.

TABLE E.

ANALYSIS OF INDIAN TEAS.

(Infusion of 8 grammes with 600 cc of boiling distilled water for 5 minutes.)

Wholesale Proportion Price Per Per Per of tannin No. Description and without cent. cent. cent. corresponding District. duty Extract. Alkaloid. Tannin. to 2·8 per lb. per cent. Alkaloid. 1 Orange Pekoe, 1/10 24·75 3·11 6·87 6·18 Deamoolie, Assam 2 Broken Orange Pekoe, 1/10 28·87 3·07 9·45 8·61 Powai, Assam 3 Orange Pekoe, Tara, 2/6 26·62 3·32 7·55 6·36 Assam 4 Pekoe, SS/U 1/4 21·75 1·86 5·42 8·16 Darjeeling 5 Fannings Badulipar, 9d. 30·37 3·30 10·46 8·87 Assam 6 Pekoe, Singlo, Assam 9d. 27·37 2·79 9·87 9·90 7 Pekoe, Rungamuttee, 7d. 23·25 2·70 5·35 5·55 Sylhet 8 Pekoe, Assam 6³⁄₄d. 27·90 2·86 7·26 7·11 9 Broken Orange 1/- 30·60 3·60 7·90 6·14 Pekoe, Assam 10 Broken Orange 1/9¹⁄₂ 25·90 2·62 8·92 9·53 Pekoe, Assam 11 Broken Orange 7³⁄₄d. 29·10 3·20 7·34 6·42 Pekoe, Sylhet 12 Orange Pekoe, 7¹⁄₂d. 27·90 2·61 8·72 9·35 Assam 13 Pekoe, Sylhet 5¹⁄₄d. 24·18 2·70 6·40 6·64 14 Broken Pekoe, 10d. 23·20 2·41 7·15 8·31 Darjeeling 15 Pekoe, Darjeeling 6¹⁄₂d. 21·92 2·21 5·72 7·25 16 Pekoe, Dooars 6d. 25·08 2·92 7·20 6·90 17 Broken Pekoe, 7d. 25·65 3·14 6·52 5·81 Dooars 18 Orange Pekoe, 6¹⁄₂d. 25·53 2·62 5·70 6·09 Cachar

TABLE F.

ANALYSIS OF CEYLON TEAS.